


Until the Sirens Sound, We're Safe

by hiolair_h



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aobajousai, Disasters, Gen, Karasuno, M/M, Nekoma, Nekoma centered, Not Shippy, but there are ships, i forgot to tag, i'm a mean author, oh boy, poor seijoh, they'll be vibing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:07:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25005913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiolair_h/pseuds/hiolair_h
Summary: Nekoma was lucky: they got a headstart, thanks to their captain's quick feet. They weren't lucky on the fact that they were now in the middle of a horror that no one prepared for. To top it off, something else is very, very wrong within their tiny, fragile world that was already falling apart.-Karasuno got a warning, and at a good time, too. Sure, they never got to say goodbye to their families, but at least they had more than five minutes to pack everything they'd need to survive. The hardest part is not the external forces turning against humanity itself, but the internal ones as people start picking fights at absolutely the worst point in their lives.-Aoba Johsai never got a warning. So it was only natural for them to be freaked out about the mess that was Japan. With no preparation whatsoever, they make their way along the new world, trying desperately to just survive. And even that was proving to be difficult.-Basically there's a big disaster. No one knows why or how it happened, or if it was even natural. But something worse than the freak force of nature seems to have joined in on the destruction.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 31
Kudos: 43





	1. Nekoma - It Begins

It all started on that one day. That god-forsaken day where Kuroo burst through the door, face sweaty and red, hands a shaking frenzy, yet already forcing himself to pick up a strong voice. A voice so utterly horrified, it sent chills to everyone in earshot. His very aura in that moment was enough to make some stand, and tense their muscles, expecting immediate action. 

It was unfortunate that they weren’t wrong.

“Everyone get the  _ fuck  _ up. Get everyone in here.  _ Now.  _ I do not care what they are doing.”

Those in the area who heard his message quickly started going around the house, collecting any and all of their teammates that lagged behind the demands of Kuroo. Kenma was the first in the room, and immediately took notice of all the little details the taller boy carried; his posture, his hands, his eyes. Worried. No,  _ frightened. _

Whatever it was, Kenma wanted no part of it. But he knew that  _ it _ would have a part to play with all of them.

“Kuroo. What happened? You weren’t gone for very long, did you run home? Where were--” Kenma was politely shouldered out of the way, Kuroo shooting him a quick apologetic glance before the uneasiness snapped back over his face.

“Is everyone here already? This is serious. What the hell are they--”

“Kuroo, give them a minute, will y--” At that moment whatever self restraint he had managed to solidify in his heavily shaken mind vanished, and a wild, irrational fear gripped the reins of his movements and words.

“We don’t  _ have _ a  _ fucking  _ **_minute_ ** _! _ If we did, I wouldn’t be acting like this, would I?! This isn’t a  _ joke! _ ” He took a deep breath in, trying to repair his consciousness after that sudden outburst. Kuroo was never one to lose his cool, no matter the situation. So it was only natural for Kenma and the others that had made their way out of their rooms to take a step back. Some of the underclassmen even hid themselves behind the upperclassmen; only one more reason to be intimidated of their captain.

“Ah, sorry, it’s just-- I’m just kind of--” Kuroo struggled to find the correct words that would make up for what he just happened to say. They all knew it wasn’t exactly his fault, that some part of him was just too overwhelmed to take anything else that came to him. It didn’t make the impact of  _ how _ he said it any less chilling, but it did make up for why.

“No, it’s alright.” Kenma paused to look around the room, but was careful not to take up too much time in his searching. “Everyone’s here, Kuroo. What do you want to say?”

Silence, tense and anxious, fell upon the team. Waiting to hear what was so important for Kuroo, perhaps one of the most casual people on the team, to come sprinting back from who knows where and yelling to get everyone into the kitchen. The silence was quickly broken by a less panicked-sounding Kuroo. Kenma internally sighed in relief a bit; seeing Kuroo so stressed was not something he necessarily wanted to see again.

“Alright. Sorry for that earlier, but that’s not important right now. What is, is I want everyone to go to their rooms, get a bag, fill it with some clothes, water, food, other supplies--”

“Woah, woah, woah there, Kuroo. What? What reason would we have to do that right now of all times--” Yaku began to protest, surprised by such demands. From what Kenma could tell, everyone else partially agreed with Yaku, even if they didn’t want to admit that to Kuroo’s face.

“You have 5 minutes. Max. Don’t be late. Try to save a bit of room in your bag; don’t pack anything you won’t need for survival.  _ Go. _ ” The emphasis on the last word was enough to get people up and moving again, to put a nervous energy and adrenaline behind each step. Speed was at their sides, time moving against them. Like they were on a boat powered by an engine, but they were also trying to ride upstream. Only the strongest of the two would prevail, but one thing was certain; the engine would eventually fail, and the current would sweep them away. However, the water doesn’t stop flowing until the river’s run dry.

Kenma went to gather his own things, but Kuroo called his name before he could leave.

“Hey, Kenma. Get a solar charger while you’re at it. I know you have one.” Kenma froze. Did he even know where that old thing was? And more importantly, the need of a solar charger implied going without an electrical outlet for some time. The potential reasons as to why were frightening.

He didn't want to overthink it and jump to conclusions, but there were an infinite number of conclusions to jump to, it seemed. The longer he spent desperately packing, the more absurd these ideas became, and he felt himself quickly become overly engulfed in them. He had to cease his packing, sit on his bed, and put his head in his hands to get himself under control. Kenma didn't want to waste any time, but he also knew that it was no use doing much of anything in such a frantic state of mind.

The five minutes they were given were soon over, and all met in the kitchen once again to be met by Kuroo, who was currently shoveling water bottles and food into people's backpacks while also trying to close them completely. Kenma could tell that he was the last to arrive, because as soon as he and Kuroo made eye contact, the taller boy stood up straight and equipped his own backpack, which appeared to be stuffed to the brim as well.

They all followed silently, no one needing to say a word as Kuroo led them out the door. He stood behind the door and counted those that came out, while Kai, the vice captain, exited last. Now that they were all outside, and nothing seemed particularly wrong, it wasn't just anxiety building within them.

It was dread.

Kuroo didn't waste any time scanning the group, and quickly glanced over his shoulder at the street behind them.

"Alright, follow me. Let's run."

Further surprise shook the group momentarily, before Kuroo waved at them to follow. Kenma hated running, and he knew it wasn't anyone's favorite activity, but if this was really as terrifying as he inferred, perhaps they should run faster.

Their captain led them perpendicular to the street he first looked down when they stepped outside; Kenma decided that it was most likely to get out of  _ it's _ way, whatever  _ it _ was. And they didn't stop after a few streets, no. They ran for blocks upon blocks, but still Kuroo seemed unsatisfied with how far they had gone.

And that's when they heard it. 

It was barely noticeable at first, just a thrumming background noise, perhaps the blood in their ears. But over time, it became noticeably louder.

Kuroo sped up.

Others did the same.

Now it had a more recognizable sound, that which Kenma had only heard on TV before, not being one to go many places as a child. It was a noise that didn't belong in the city of Tokyo, or any other city. So very out of place amongst the echoing buildings around them.

There was a slight breeze now, but Kenma couldn't breathe anymore. He was never athletic, he never had good stamina, even on the court. He was the brain, not the heart. His legs were heavy, and not even the pulsating adrenaline telling him that something  _ very bad _ was about to happen could keep him at Kuroo's ambitious pace.

He fell behind. 

Thank god Kuroo noticed. Otherwise he would be dead, he knew it to be true.

"Hey! Kenma! Get your ass up, come on! You're not fucking dying on my watch!" Kuroo had to yell to be heard over the roar that had surrounded them, half due to the echoing pillars of buildings, and half due to the oncoming disaster's sheer intensity. 

He had to be half-dragged back to standing by his captain, which normally he would find embarrassing, but in his overworked state, he could care less about who helped him up. Kuroo yelled something above the deafening roar, but Kenma didn't particularly feel like making it out. It was directed at Kai, who turned around and pulled the rest of Nekoma onwards. 

He was relieved to see an odd looking structure that was a decent distance away, and that Kai and the rest of the group had basically made it under it. They were probably told to keep going inside of it, but Kenma doubted that he himself would catch up with them by the time  _ it _ reached them.

He was dragged out of his thoughts, quite literally, as Kuroo began a mad dash to the structure with Kenma awkwardly thrown in his arms. Somehow he got his feet to move, and now was only being half-dragged to the overhang connecting the two taller buildings. He heard it coming. He wanted to  _ run, _ to run like he never had before. But his body couldn't keep up with the demands of his head, and he could see it now, oh god it was  _ coming- _

With a defiant scream, he and Kuroo lept under the overhang and scrambled a few feet into the safer, covered area of what appeared to be an indoor parking garage.

That's when it all hit.

Water. 

The most violent flood he had ever seen. It took up the entirety of the parking garage entrance, but the overwhelming force behind it kept it moving in a relatively straight line, so even though he and Kuroo were both a mere few feet away, the water never hit them.

Kenma never knew how absolutely terrifying water could be, but now that it was 3 feet from eradicating him and ripping off his face, he couldn’t help but feel that way. It wasn’t making breathing any easier, and he could vaguely tell that he was shaking, most likely for multiple reasons. Kuroo sat next to him, seemingly in a similar state of shock, frozen and staring at the monster of a flood not too far from them.

Slowly, it’s as if his body found its controls again, and he moved towards the boy sitting next to him at a crawling speed. It felt like so much work just to move an inch. but he couldn’t stand the cold that washed over him, both from spraying water and fear. Thankfully, Kuroo had the same thing in mind, or at least something similar. But he also had more stamina, and wasn’t quite as winded as Kenma was. Kuroo suddenly spun and pulled Kenma in close to him, and Kenma obliged without a second thought, letting himself melt into Kuroo’s arms like they didn’t almost die, like it was just a cold evening they were spending alone, comfortably absorbed in each other’s presences.

He had needed this, and by the looks of it, Kuroo had too. He could hear soft sobbing noises emit from the other boy’s mouth, and Kenma knew he was probably in a similar state to him. He wrapped his arms around the larger frame, letting his hands grip the sweatshirt over it tightly, never wanting to let go. 

And they sat like that for as long as they dared, letting themselves rebuild their defenses and emotions, trying to shake the fear of death from their minds. Just breathing next to the roaring floodwater. Breathing.

Living.

“Hey… Kenma. You alright?” Kuroo spoke slowly and as softly as he dared to still be heard over the water. Kenma only nodded, not trusting his mouth to say what he wanted it to. “Okay then, we should… go meet up with the others. If you’re ready, of course. They’re probably worried.”

That got Kenma thinking. Not just about his own team, who was waiting for him and their captain to return, but to another team, one he hoped would only fare better than them. But uncertainty crowded his entire world. Questions were layering themselves higher than the buildings they took refuge under. Panic resparked itself deep within his gut, and in a moment of desperation, he pushed his body away from Kuroo’s. His hands fumbled at his zipped-up pocket as he struggled to retrieve his phone and turn it on.

Hinata Shouyo. Karasuno. Fukurodani. Where  _ were _ they? Were they alive? Unaware of the floodwaters? Or already drowning in them?


	2. Karasuno - Phone Call

It was mid-afternoon, and Hinata was sitting in the gym with the rest of Karasuno. It was a Saturday, but he and a few others had agreed to weekend practice, then Ukai had made it a mandatory practice day. Some people, of course, were not so happy to be there on the weekend, but Hinata couldn’t understand them; after all, volleyball was his greatest passion. He’d be glad to play in his dreams, and every day before he died.

All of their bags were pressed against a wall, their jackets thrown haphazardly on top of them. No one really cared if their jackets got mixed, either that or those who did refused to admit it. It had been noisy if not minutes ago, but the atmosphere seemed to have cooled down enough for a comfortable quiet to dawn upon the group. They were on a short break, so no one had left, but the normal workout practice usually was had begun to work its way into every person’s bones.

Hinata had a small smile on his face, letting the smell of sweat and the burning feeling in his muscles envelope his senses. He always felt most comfortable after working hard, feeling the satisfaction of his work seep through his skin and course through his blood. The day was perfect; wonderful temperature, no clouds, nothing. Just him and his team. Together.

Then his phone rang.

Many would just brush off a phone call, thinking it was scammers, but he also recognized the ringtone as Kenma’s, who knew Hinata’s schedule well enough to know not to call him at this time unless it was something important. So he didn’t just forget about it, he didn’t like doing that to his friends.

“Oi, dumbass. I thought you knew better than to turn your phone on so loud. Where are you- are you going to talk on the phone during practice? You idiot.” Kageyama pestered Hinata as he stood, whacking his shin to get emphasis across. Hinata slightly stumbled, and with an exasperated hmph, made his way towards his bag, with his phone ever ringing.

“It’s Kenma! I’m not just gonna leave Kenma ringing forever. It’ll be quick, I promise. I’ll just tell him that I’m in practice, and then that’ll be it.” Kageyama turned back around, seemingly satisfied enough with the answer Hinata gave him despite the angry frown he wore on his face. Hinata smiled slyly in triumph at his negotiation skills before turning to his bag and rummaging around for his phone. Upon finding it, he walked towards the doorway, not particularly wanting to disturb the quiet atmosphere of the gym. He passed Coach Ukai as he went, and politely nodded. 

He pressed “answer”. And that’s when the day changed.

“Hey Ken- oh my god, why is it so loud? Where the heck are you?” Hinata was immediately intrigued and concerned. Kenma didn’t like loud noises, so why was he where he was? Why didn’t he move?

“H-hey, Shouyou. You wanna turn on camera?” There was a heavy sense of fear laced in his voice, along with plain exhaustion. Hinata didn’t hesitate to turn on his camera, and soon Kenma did the same. He looked about the same as he sounded; tired, scared, and very, very worried. His face was a bit dark, as were the rest of his surroundings, except for a faint light coming from his left.

“Woah! What happened? Are you okay, Kenma? Where are you?” Secondary distress began replacing the serene feelings just mere moments before; something was  _ wrong _ .

“Let me show you something. You need to take this seriously, it’s not a joke.” Kenma sounded like he was half yelling over the noise, but the tone at which he spoke alone was enough to give him chills, and he hadn’t even seen whatever thing Kenma wanted to show him. Until Kenma flipped his camera.

Water.

A violent wall of water kept Kenma locked in his location, fast enough to be mistaken for whitewater rapids. It covered the entire parking garage’s entrance, top to bottom. The spray hit against the walls, but it relatively kept out in the street. For brief moments, he saw what looked like vehicles, or parts of buildings, or  _ oh god I hope those aren’t people _ before they were swept away.

Instantly his mood plummeted. He had no response to this, despite questions filling his mind to the brim. It seemed so… unreal. But Kenma insisted it was, and he did trust Kenma.

“Are… are you still in Tokyo?” His own voice sounded foreign to him, a far away tether to a reality that had just been broken by the sheer force of shock. It was a stupid question, he knew, but he didn’t want to think about where the water would be heading if it  _ was _ Tokyo. I mean, it couldn’t be, could it? That wasn’t a parking lot entrance, no way, there was no way--

“Yes.” Kenma spoke firmly, but paused, possibly to gather his thoughts, or maybe even to gather whatever shred of social skills he had in him to try and speak with a strong voice. “I don’t know if this is coming your way, but I’d assume it is. Check the news if you can… ah, but you’re at practice, right.” Another pause; considering the best option. “Show this to your coach. Ask him to look it up on the news or something, try to get a directory.”

Hinata didn’t want to believe it. He  _ couldn’t  _ believe it. That. Coming towards them. And on such a day, a beautiful day like this one, felt fake. Completely and utterly fake.

He almost dropped his phone.

Instead, Hinata asked a very simple question, one that Kenma himself had probably already thought through until it was an answer that felt carved out of stone.

“...Then?”

Apparently, Kenma didn’t seem to have such an answer, at least not for Hinata. Perhaps one for his own situation, not a general solution.

“Then pack what you need, food, water, etcetera, and get somewhere high up. This thing goes beyond this little parking garage entrance. I’d estimate maybe two stories high or so, and I don’t expect it to lower anytime soon.” A very blunt answer. There was no room for another game of volleyball, or stopping by his house. It was going to happen, eventually. It was going to hit them, and they didn’t have time to waste.

“A-alright, Kenma. I’ll… I’ll do that. Uhm, you’re with your team, I’d assume?”

“Yes.”  _ No time to waste. _

“Okay, t-that’s good. Please, stay safe.”

“I’ll try.”  _ No time to waste. _

Hinata’s feet were moving before his brain exactly processed what he was doing, but thankfully it was only going over to Coach Ukai. His coach turned towards him, and apparently Hinata must have been wearing some kind of negative expression, because Ukai quickly stepped forward out of concern. The others began to notice him, too, and they looked just as confused as Hinata felt.

“Hey, Hinata. What do you need? Everything alr--” Hinata’s phone was shoved in his coach’s hands before he could finish his question. He stared at the screen, and his expressions changed rapidly, from confusion, to realization, to denial, to horror, and back to confusion again. “What… am I looking at?” Ukai spoke slowly, trying to maintain control in his voice, attempting to convert the image into something that felt more natural. But it wasn’t natural, it was just plain  _ terrifying. _

“That’s a street in Tokyo, sir.”

“No it’s not.” Denial. A great emotion for turning against childish fantasies and beliefs, but terrible in moments of fear or grief. One simply cannot deny that their life will be painless, but if they do then they will quickly be proven wrong, so very wrong.

“Yes, sir, it is. From inside a parking garage.” It was very unrealistic. But what has the world come to for Hinata to be able to decide what was real? Exactly, it didn’t. So it was real, even if it felt like a movie plot, or just some sick dream. It was real, too real.

Ukai stared at the phone screen for longer, scanning it for any signs of CGI or greenscreen, desperately searching for something to tell him that it was all just a prank that Hinata decided to cruelly pull on him. Hinata was about to speak up again, but was interrupted by his coach’s thoughts.

“That’s… water, isn’t it?” Now the entire gym was listening, unable to see but very able to picture the sight of water storming through in front of a parking garage entrance. Some stood, the four words that their coach said causing adrenaline to pulse through them, while others froze, like one would in a movie theater before a jumpscare they knew was going to happen.

“Yes sir.”

Two words. 

Two words sent the whole gym into a frenzy, people running over to see this water-filled street in Tokyo, while others shouted in disbelief, refusing to trust in the video call Hinata was receiving. The video shook for a moment, the hands behind the camera surprised at the sudden outburst of noise. Ukai struggled to maintain his grip on the phone with everyone else pulling on it, wanting to see the screen for themselves. Hinata tried to work his way through the small crowd that had gathered around the phone, desperation to explain the rest of the information he needed to say beginning to make him antsy. 

There were too many people, he couldn’t get through.  _ They need to hear this.  _ “...Stop.”

They didn’t believe it either. He could tell.  _ They need to hear this.  _ “Stop.”

If he didn’t tell them, they would get hurt.  _ They need to hear this.  _ “Stop!”

They might even… die. He didn’t want to say it, but he wasn’t wrong.  _ They need to hear this. _ “Hey, I said  _ stop _ !”

There were only five words in his head.  _ They need to hear this.  _

_ They need to hear this. _

_ They  _ **_need_ ** _ to hear this. _

**_They need to hear this!_ **

“ _ Would everyone  _ **_shut UP_ ** !”

The room froze. No one dared to move, not wanting to retrigger whatever had made Hinata snap so hard. He hadn’t realized how loud he yelled, he just knew that he needed to, and that he did. He was breathing hard, frustration and anxiety leaving him feeling jittery and surprisingly serious. Some other part of his brain must have snapped into action to cover for his withering emotions, because he spoke the next words with overwhelming steadiness.

“Yes, that is a street in Tokyo. Yes, that is water covering the  _ entire entrance to a parking garage _ . Yes, Kenma from Nekoma is sitting there, holding the damn phone for you to gawk at. And, before you ask, it’s also most likely going to be  _ here _ , too. So instead of dancing around the phone in disbelief, start  _ believing it _ because if you don’t, you are going to  _ die _ . Got it?”

A chorus of shaken nods went through the group, scared to move but too scared of Hinata to keep him in silence. Even Coach Ukai and Takeda seemed to be surprised at his sudden outburst.

“Good. Then if that’s settled, Coach Takeda, can you check if anyone has an estimate on where it’s going to be? That would be nice to know. And everyone else? You guys can pack your bags. Get a lot of food, fill up your water bottles, the such.” At first the room remained frozen, as if it were a scene in a TV show and the watcher forgot to unpause it. 

“ _ Go. _ ”

With that, in a frantic silence, people set out on their jobs, refusing to speak within the gym but not willing to hold their silence as soon as they stepped out the doors. When most of the team had exited the gym, Hinata felt his legs crumple beneath him, his momentary strength leaving him feeling emptier than ever. He soon felt arms pulling him up and over to a bench, and soon came to realize that it was Ukai as he had his phone handed back to him.

“I didn’t think you could talk like that, shorty.” Kuroo’s voice echoed through his phone, barely audible over the sound of the water.

“I didn’t know I could either.” The energy that took had removed him of the shock of finding Kuroo with Kenma on the other side of the line. Kenma did say that he was with his team, though, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise in the first place.

“Well, Shouyou, we better get going over here. The rest of the team’s waiting for us. You’ll be alright, just remember what I told you. And don’t underestimate it, okay? We’ll be safe.” Kenma’s voice cut back in, both reassuring and stern, wanting to get a point across without further aggravating Hinata’s flaring emotions.

“Thank you, Kenma. Bye.” He didn’t want to say it like he would die, like they’d never hear from one another again. He refused to believe such a thing.

Ah, denial strikes again.

“Goodbye, Shouyou.”

_ Call ended _ .

Hinata stood up. There was work to be done, no time to waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter might take a little longer, since i have no idea how to add in aoba johsai yet. in fact, the next chapter might just be nekoma again, i haven't a clue.  
> this one came out really quickly; i think i wrote it all in, like, an hour and a half in one sitting? and proofreading? psh, who does that?  
> so, yeah, don't expect super speedy updates all the time. once i get into it, i'll love it. but we haven't really gotten there yet, sorry :)


	3. Nekoma - Don't Trust the Empty Hall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma warned Karasuno. Now it was time to head in and meet his team again. Although he had a bad feeling about this. It was... too quiet. Too quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> agggghhh sorry i haven't updated this story in literally forever! i'm doing online school work for 6 hours a day and i haven't had too much time to write.  
> so, in honor of keeping you waiting, have a chapter that is literally twice as long as the others!  
> i really didn't mean to make it this long, but i knew what i wanted in the story, and it just took up 8 pages in google docs instead of 4. i feel accomplished.  
> this is where it gets a bit spoOky and more unrealistic, so hey. however there are no graphic scenes. not yet at least lmao

Kenma hated to hang up on Hinata, especially after listening to his outburst. He could tell, just by the tone of his voice, that the news Kenma brought had hit him hard, harder than he wanted it to. But at least the information got through. 

"Kenma, you ready now?" Kuroo spoke with a steady voice. The short break they had given themselves had calmed his nerves, despite the raging waters so close to them.

Kenma nodded, not trusting his voice enough to respond verbally. He had already let himself be broken enough for one day, he couldn’t anymore. He wasn’t a child; he had to toughen up sometime, face the facts that had been thrown so harshly in his face and deal with them head-on. That was the only way he’d survive-- no, the only way they’d  _ all _ survive.

Toughing it out.

On quivering legs, the two pulled themselves up, Kenma leaning on Kuroo just a bit. They slowly made their way into the shelter of the parking garage, looking to both sides before deciding to turn left. For to the left lay a building, or at least the entrance to one, and from where Kenma was standing he was almost certain he saw a red jacket just inside the window.

His suspicions were confirmed when Kai came walking out of the glass doors, Inuoka and Yamamoto quick to follow. His and Kuroo’s faces must have said it all, or maybe it was the way that Kenma still refused to let go of Kuroo’s sleeve, or even Kuroo’s other arm wrapped reassuringly around Kenma’s shoulder. Kai escorted them in without a word, while Inuoka remained a safe distance away, most likely still afraid of Kuroo from his most recent outburst. Yamamoto, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate to step forward and bombard the two slightly damp boys with an unnecessary amount of words.

“What the hell took you guys so long? Ya know, I was actually starting to get worried and shit about you. And Yaku was just like, ‘oh, what if they don’t come back’ and, ‘oh, what if they didn’t make it in time’ and saying a whole load of nonsense. So what were you two doing, huh? What was it like? What--”

“Yamamoto. Please stop, let them breathe a bit.” Kai was swift to come to their aid, shutting up Yamamoto, at least for the meantime. “I’m sure they were just catching their breath; I know I would be. Anyone would, really, after almost being in that.” Kenma sighed, knowing that Kai was just meaning well, but he was still hitting a nerve in Kenma.  _ He  _ was the one to almost get crushed by a wall of water, not Kai.  _ He  _ was the one that almost died.

Now was no time to be selfish, Kenma knew, but there was always that part of him shouting  _ every man for himself _ like cannonfire; every so often but when it does hit, it hits  _ hard _ . It’s very difficult to ignore, and leaves a scarring impact in the landscape.

Kenma was pulled out of his overanalyzing of himself by Yaku tackling the both of them in a brief bear hug, and Lev trailing slightly behind, probably wishing he had the courage to do the same. He heard Kuroo chuckle a bit at his friend, gently pushing Yaku off of them. Yaku turned his head downward for a moment, then picked it back up suddenly, an inexplicably angry yet impossibly sad expression coating his face, tears pricking at the side of his wide eyes.

“I was really worried about you, you know! You sure took your sweet time coming around to meet us again. I- You-” His voice broke on the last word, and his entire aura seemed to soften into a mild sorrow. Kenma saw Kuroo’s face fill with momentary pity, knowing that despite Yaku’s harsh words, he really was just worried about his teammates. His friends, people he genuinely cared about. Yaku spoke up again, softer this time, “I don’t know what we would do if you guys didn’t make it.”

Those words struck something within Kenma, and not necessarily the words themselves. No, those were generic, cheesy movie lines that anyone would say to someone else. They didn’t have to be fake to not make much of an impact. It was the tone of them that caught him off-guard. Instead of the angry outbursts he usually heard from Yaku, or a cool, I-know-what-I’m-doing type of voice, it was unbearably pained, overflowing with the anxiety and sadness that everyone was creating in the room. It felt far too negative for Kenma’s liking, and made him uneasy.

“Thank you for your sentiment, Yaku, but really, we’re alright. Don’t…” He took a deep breath, steadying his voice, which was already starting to shake a bit again. “Don’t say that again. Like we’re gonna die, because we’re not. Not from some stupid water, at least.” He felt a bit of fire in his words, just enough to carry the words deep into someone’s mind without making them all-too-aware about it.

Yamamoto did a little fist pump, but Fukunaga made him put his arm down. Oh, respect, how do you work.

“Ehh… we should go further inside, I think.” Kenma could tell that Kuroo was desperately trying to break the negative tension that had formed, even if it wasn’t between any of the people. The negativity itself seemed to manifest out of thin air, suffocating and absorbing any bits of happiness or joy that the team managed to hold onto, if even for a moment. Moving around meant more outward reflection and less inward depreciation.

And so the group began to venture in towards the stairs, quickly climbing their way up them until the walls no longer echoed back the raging water outside. When they stopped, the sign said “Floor 7.”

It was a miracle how the lower levels weren’t flooded; every wall was glass, staring out into the streets below. On the seventh floor, the water looked far enough away but still scarily closer than the street would be; maybe a floor or two closer. The water sometimes contained bits and pieces of things large enough for Kenma to make out, such as cars or chunks of concrete. It was eerie; looking down never really felt this scary to him before.

But the eeriest thing, to Kenma, was how the entire floor was empty.

Entirely empty.

There was no noise. Only the faint humming of the fluorescent lights and the water below. No people.

He tapped Kuroo’s arm, and he seemed to get it pretty quickly, but the others were at the windows, staring in shock and utter horror at the strength of the flood below. Some frantically talked to others, unable to fully believe that their vision was accurate. Some stayed silent and let the weight of their situation fully sink in, or maybe it hit them. Kenma didn’t know.

Kuroo turned to his vice-captain, speaking calmly. “Hey, Kai, Kenma and I are gonna look around. Make sure everyone stays up here, and keep an eye on them too. Especially the first years, I don’t know how they’re gonna take it quite yet. Don’t let anyone do anything stupid.” Kenma began walking, and Kuroo caught up behind him in no time. The muttering of their teammates was quickly drowned out as they explored the vacant hallways and meeting rooms. It all felt so unreal to Kenma, like those weird pictures of abandoned places that feel oddly familiar. But he was walking through it, not just seeing it on the other side of a screen, wondering if it’s a computer generated image.

“Where do you think they are?” His own voice sounded awkwardly echoey in the space, like it didn’t belong. The question was simple enough, but it had so many possibilities, so many things that could end up being worse than they hoped.

“Hmm… Maybe, they all heard about it before we did and evacuated.”   
Kenma shook his head. “The cars in the parking lot say otherwise.”   
“Maybe they all went to the basement.” Kuroo hypothesized, not wanting to make any negative assumptions.

“Doubt this place even has one.” The more they talked about it, the worse the possibilities became.

“Uh… top floor?” Concern laced the very edges of his words, sharpening them just a tad.

“Not a bad idea, but I have a bad feeling that the top floor will be empty too.”

“Oh! It’s an abandoned building.” Kuroo seemed relatively satisfied with that answer until Kenma spoke up again.

“The cars, remember? There wouldn’t be so many parked in front of an abandoned building with a functioning toll booth.”   
Kuroo’s face sank. “So… where could they be?”   
“Why don’t we call them to find out?”

Kuroo stopped walking and turned to face the other boy, questions riddling his face. "Wait, do you, like, know someone that works here, or…"

"No, not anyone in particular. Just call the ground floor. There's a phone that connects to the main office by the stairs; we passed by it earlier. "

Kuroo nodded to this, although both of them knew that it was a long shot for someone on the other end of the line to even pick up the phone. "We can try that, I guess. It's better than waiting."

With that, Kenma was glad to turn around and walk back towards the slightly more familiar part of the building. Soon enough, he heard the voices of his teammates once again. He gently tugged on Kuroo's sleeve, pulling him towards the phone which lay attached to the counter. A phone number was written next to it, most likely the ground floor's. 

"You wanna do the honors, Kuroo?" Kenma said seriously, not particularly wanting to listen to a ringing phone for however long.

"Hah, you still try to get out of calling people, even if you know they won't pick up. Classic Kenma." Kuroo laughed at him a bit, and while it did lighten the somber mood that had set between them, it did make Kenma's face flush a bit red.

Kuroo put in the phone number and pressed "call." First time, no one picked up. Tried again. Second time, same outcome. Again. Third time, same thing.

It was during the fourth time that both Kuroo and Kenma were starting to get discouraged, but Kai walked in to check on what they were doing.

"Try one more time," he said to them.

"We already tried four," Kuroo backfired, putting the phone back onto it's holder. He sounded a bit exasperated, even though they had already reached the most likely conclusion. 

"Just… try it. I have a feeling someone might pick up. You are calling the office, I assume?" Kai was smart; he didn't need Kenma to explain everything to him, he just kind of knew. It was a trait Kenma wished he saw more of. He trusted Kai to know what to do or what was going on if he didn't. 

So Kenma nudged Kuroo with his shoulder back towards the phone and made a slightly angry face at him until he succumbed and typed in the number one more time.

The phone rang.

And then it clicked.

Someone had picked it up.

On the 5th try, someone on the ground floor had picked up the phone that had been ringing on and off.

Kuroo put it on speaker mode.

But they were met with silence. The only indication that the phone was working properly was hearing the rush of water distorted through the tiny phone speaker.

"...Hello? Anybody home down there?"

Kuroo's attempted communication was met with silence yet again.

"You finally picked up, the least you can do is say something back. Look, we just got here, alright? Cut us some slack." Frustration wound its way into Kuroo's voice again, and Kenma completely sympathized with him in some way, but there was also something terribly off about the lack of a response from whoever picked up the phone.

The next words were so quiet that Kuroo almost missed them, almost drowned out by the roaring of the water, but he knew exactly what he heard.

"Leave."

There was a panicked breath at the other end of the line, and the woman who had picked up the phone seemed to be moving away from it, and by the sound of its quickly. She shouted something, incomprehensible to the boys, and then let out a bone-chilling scream.

It was nothing like in the movies, with actors faking injuries and falling where they were. This was real. It made Kenma take a step back and put a hand over his mouth, and it made every hair stand up on the back of his neck. He felt a tremor go through his entire body; it was  _ real _ .

The scream was soon met with an inhuman sound that one could only describe as a monstrous  _ screech _ . Louder than that poor woman, filled with blind rage and hunger. This  _ thing _ was loud enough that Kenma almost covered his ears, and Kuroo hung up, unable to listen any longer. 

"What…" Kuroo spoke like he was out of breath. "What was that?"

It was a question Kenma didn't know the answer to, and he didn't  _ want _ to know either. But he knew, somehow, he'd know, and that scared him more than the flood did. "I don't know, and I don't like it. Let's gather the team, that thing knows we're here now."

No one wants to admit Kenma was right, so they all just wandered back into the main hallway and called the rest of the team over.

"What's going on? What are we doing?" Yaku was quick to sense their fear, which none of them had the strength to conceal completely. "Is something  _ else _ wrong now, too?"

Kuroo just sighed and shook his head, for a moment looking weary and drained, before looking back at Yaku. "Look, don't worry about it," Kuroo began, "But i think we should find a room in the center to rest in. Maybe look for, uh, I don't know, a supply closet or something? Somewhere practical, but I want everyone to be able to fit in there."

Yaku and Kai nodded and began to lead the first and second years into the hallway. Yaku took up the front while Kai stayed at the back, and spoke to Kuroo and Kenma briefly before catching up to the group.

"Find something to defend yourselves with, okay? I know they don't need to know yet, but I also know that you guys are going to try to save us when that thing gets up here. I'd rather you be safe."

Kenma nodded to Kai, and that was enough to get him to turn back around and merge with the rear end of the group. He left Kuroo and Kenma standing, once again alone with one another, in the hallway. 

"Okay, he's right, we need some kind of weapon. What would be in a standard office building that could be used as a weapon?" Kuroo began listing possibilities off as they walked, and some of his ideas were absurd to Kenma. Like, how in the world would a paperclip protect you from some big potential threat? 

As they moved through the more open section of the floor, Kenma scanned the rooms carefully before his mind clicked on something. 

"Get a table leg." It was such an obvious answer to him now. A table leg, whether wooden or metal, was strong enough to be used for almost anything. Sure, the table wouldn't stand, but this could be the end of the world. The table would be useless with all four legs.

Kuroo just hummed to him, and quickly separated a singular table leg from the base, and then another. He handed the second one to Kenma, who took it without a question. 

By the time the two found their way to where the rest of the team was staying, it was almost dark out. The sky had beautiful colors of orange and pink splashed across it, and the clouds were wonderfully fluffy. It was ironic how the sky could still be so beautiful while the ground was a living nightmare. 

The room they had chosen was just off of a large space that was suspiciously empty, but Kenma didn't have the energy to question things even further. He was already half asleep by that point. The windows were tinted enough so that the setting sun didn't blind them, but he was still annoyed at how it hit his eyes at such an angle. Kuroo laughed at his exhausted frustration, but it was all in good nature. They all needed something to laugh at.

Yaku quickly explained their current setup, which they somehow completed in the ten minutes they were gone for, but Kenma was only half listening. As soon as Yaku finished, he found an open spot and immediately curled up and fell asleep. Kuroo laughed softly at him again, but told the others to at least try to do the same, and say himself next to Kenma, table leg laying beside him.

He never realized how tired he was until he shut his eyes and was immediately absorbed by sleep.

\---

Kuroo didn't know what time it was when he woke up, but he did know that something was off. Mostly everyone was asleep, or at least appeared to be, including Kenma, which didn't surprise Kuroo. However, that didn't stop him from shaking Kenma's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up.

The more time passed, the uneasier he grew. He had a speculation as to why, but hated to admit it because of how terrified it made him.

It wasn't the flood that worried him anymore.

It was whatever the flood brought along with it.

It was a far away thud from down the hallway on the other side of the door that shook Kenma into consciousness. Kuroo heard it too, and his hand subconsciously reached for the table leg to his left.

Another one. Closer. Now Kenma was fully awake, rubbing his eyes with his left hand and holding his table leg in his right. Kuroo could now tell how heavy this thing was, and it wasn't light.

A third. Now more people were starting to wake up, and Kuroo had to shush the ones that were being a bit louder. 

A fourth. Now the entire team was awake and freshly startled. Kenma and Kai had the same knowing looks on their faces, the same expression that made Kuroo's hands shake just a bit.

The fifth thud was when the team silently began scrunching themselves back up against the furthest wall, Yaku and Kai moving in front of the first and second years, while Kuroo and Kenma took a position more forward, both holding their table legs like baseball bats. Kuroo stood up quickly, looking back at his team reassuringly, while Kenma crawled past him and stood up a bit slower. 

They were now shoulder to shoulder, Kenma on the left, Kuroo on the right. They held their table legs tightly, as their lives might depend on them, but despite their slightly shaking forms they still looked strong to everyone else. They were risking their lives to defend Nekoma, and that was powerful enough for them.

The thuds continued until they were impossibly loud and far too close for comfort, and just stopped. Kenma's breathing was quick and just barely audible above Kuroo's steadier but a bit heavier breaths. The rest of the team was almost dead silent behind them, occasionally Kuroo would hear a breath that was particularly loud or a jacket rustle amongst the group. 

Silence, terribly constricting silence, consumed all the air out of his lungs, and it took an unbelievable amount of energy to keep breathing. 

It hit the door, rattling it almost off its hinges. Kenma flinched beside him, and Kuroo resisted doing the same.

"The door's gonna hit us if we stand here," Kenma pointed out with a whisper. Kuroo nodded and moved to the right wall while Kenma moved to the left. It left the path to Yaku and the rest of the team open, but he trusted Yaku to defend himself if he needed to. He could probably just kick it in the shins and it would go away.

So they waited, each hit to the door sucking all of their breaths out of their bodies. They watched as the door dented and sometimes broke under the force of the hits. Their bodies trembled, expressing a uniform fear for their lives. But they could do nothing but wait.

Kenma's eyes shone with fear, Yaku's with a ferocity that Kuroo had never seen before. Another bang drew his attention off of his shorter friend and back to the door, which looked about ready to break. 

It was not pleasant when it did.

The door flung forward, almost crushing Yaku in the process. They were met with a screech almost identical to the one they heard over the phone, but amplified so that it shook the room itself. And Kuroo wished with all his might that he was dreaming, but he knew his imagination wasn't powerful enough to create what he was seeing.

It was a monster, a literal monster. It had two thick hind legs, consisting of gross blubbery-looking skin and powerful muscles. It had four arms, two for walking which were similar to the hind legs and two free arms which were much longer and skinnier. It's face… Kuroo couldn't look at it.

The sheer sight of the beast made them freeze out of shock, even as they willed their bodies to move. They had turned into lead statues in the face of death. How pitiful this end will be…

Kuroo thought he was going to die.

And he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

He was going to die.

Him, and Kenma, and Kai, Yaku, the team…

They were--

He was pulled out of his thoughts to a fierce scream, but not from the monster. No, this feral scream was from Yaku, who took as much of a running start as he could get in the small room and launched himself towards the beast.

He kicked it in the face.

With all the power his small body had, which was a surprising amount, he kicked the monster in the face.

The creature stumbled backwards, not expecting its meal to fight back so valiantly. Yaku landed hard on his back, but Kuroo was already launching himself out the door after the monster, now prepared to protect his team in any way, shape, or form.

Kenma stayed a bit behind Kuroo, sneaking a picture of the hideous beast in front of him. Kuroo glanced back at him, half furious and half skeptical, but now was no time to argue. The monster screamed again.

Kuroo stepped away from the doorway, and the two began to circle one another. A game of cat and mouse, but no one was really sure who was who.

"Kuroo! If you're gonna hit it, dodge its arms and hit its face!" Kenma shouted basic instructions to Kuroo, who let out a small grunt to let Kenma know that his words were heard. 

It was surprisingly fast, and Kuroo resorted to trying to dodge it rather than hit it. He did hit it, though, maybe once or twice, before Kenma got an idea.

"Window! The window, Kuroo!"

Ah yes. The giant wall of glass that protected them from the night wind stood where it always was, untouched. Not a single window broken, it was sparkling at them, just waiting for something to happen to it.

And, boy, did something happen to it.

Kuroo began driving the monster towards the wall of glass, forcing it back with his table leg. It was working surprisingly well, until the creature hit the wall. Then, all hell momentarily broke loose if it hadn't already before. The monster charged. Kuroo charged back.

And the glass shattered, the beast lost its balance. It tumbled into the raging floodwaters below, which hadn't slowed, even though it was well into the night.

Kuroo took a moment to breathe. He dropped his table leg, now well dented and covered in some sort of gross slime. The broken glass under his feet crunched as he stumbled backwards and away from the gaping window ledge. Kenma ran and caught him before he fell, hoisting him back on his feet without a word.

The two stood in shocked silence for a minute before Kenma spoke softly, "You did good. It's gone now. You did it." He spoke some other soft words of reassurance, which Kuroo found helped his breathing return to a normal rate. He hadn't realized how hard he had been breathing in the first place.

Kenma led him back inside the room while Yamamoto and Kai threw the broken door out into the hallway. Fukunaga was struggling to stay calm as he helped Yaku sit up, but Yaku insisted he was fine the entire time anyway. The others still say in the back, cowering in fear despite the threat being eliminated. 

Kuroo took a good look at his very much alive team, and let himself laugh for a moment, just a soft laugh. They were all alive, hurt and struggling but alive.

"Alright everyone. That's over now, it's still night though. Try to get some more sleep if you can." And with that Kuroo sat down again, Kenma quickly pressing up right against him, phone in hand. Kuroo looked down at him and placed a hand on Kenma's head before closing his eyes and falling into a dreamless, exhausted sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a long one! hope you liked it :)  
> i spent a good few hours writing it, and it was totally worth my time. it's way longer than any chapter i've ever written before!!  
> thank you for all the nice comments and support, and again i'm super sorry to those who straight up forgot that this existed and now have to go read the first chapters again..  
> oops :/  
> next is karasuno! can you guess what's gonna happen to them?

**Author's Note:**

> alright. first chapter. next will be Karasuno based, so be ready!  
> honestly idk how to end Karasuno's arc yet.   
> Oops.


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